Here is a quick and easy way to peel and serve watermelon (which is one of my families favorite snacks during the summer. We just can't get enough). **This works great for cantaloupe too. I peel it, then cut it in half and scoop out the seeds.

*Start by cutting a flat surface on the end of the watermelon.
*Tip it on it's flat end and start to carve away the rind, from the top down, all the way around the melon.
*Slice off any excess rind and the top of the melon.
*Cut the melon in half lengthwise and lay it down on it's flat side.
*Again, cut the melon in 4 pieces lengthwise (so you get 4 large spears).
*Slice across the spears 1/2" to 3/4" apart. This gives you the perfect serving size and no rind or wasted watermelon when the kids eat it! Yay!

The kids and I are halfway through studying the 50 states today. We celebrated with a "Half-way" There Party. It was really fun to make the halved snacks and tableware. The kids got a kick out of the "half-full cup" of soda.  

To make the cups half full, I used Glad Press n' Seal wrap to seal the cut edge of the cup. I only had one leak a little, but if you press it really well onto the cup and wrap it around the back, it does a pretty good job of holding in the liquid. The cups didn't stand up on their own until I added the orange soda. A straw made it easier to drink from.

To make the ice cream cone, I used paper snow cone cups, cut in half (of course). I put two scoops of ice cream on a cookie sheet with a Silpat nonstick mat. I cut the scoops in half carefully, so I wouldn't cut the Silpat. Then laid them cut side down and put them in the freezer to harden. When it was time for the party, I took them out of the freezer and set them in the halved cones. In hindsight, the ice cream was quite messy this way and a couple of the kids got bowls to put their cones in.